Page 31 of Season of the Wolf

A brassy bell rang throughout the house, which meant it was likely my brothers hadn’t taken my rejection seriously. If I had to guess which of the three was currently standing outside on the front porch, I would’ve put money on Kyle.

However, when I pulled the door to, and stared at an innocent face framed in brown hair, a smile touched my lips.

Tired as I was.

Roz lifted a brown paper bag into the air, as if she needed a peace offering for stopping by so late. Meanwhile, I would’ve gladly dragged myself out of bed for her no matter the time.

“I come bearing food,” she grinned, crossing the threshold when I stepped aside.

“Thanks.”

I accepted the bag, wanting to just be grateful she thought enough of me to stop by, but more came out. A prompt eye roll let me know she was expecting as much.

“You really shouldn’t be out here so late on your own,” I added. “It’s not safe anymore.” I knew she hadn’t forgotten, but her actions made me think she may need a reminder.

She did a quick twirl, all while wearing a smile that made me worry she didn’t really grasp the seriousness of the situation.

“See? All in one piece,” she beamed. “Besides, it’s not like Iwalkedover,” she reasoned.

My weight dropped down onto the cushion of one of four armchairs in the living room and I dug down into the bag while responding.

“Yeah, but to an army of mutts, you being in a vehicle only makes the challenge of attacking you more fun, but it wouldn’t stop them.”

And it wouldn’t. We witnessed firsthand how vicious these things were. IfIwas capable of stopping a moving truck, surely they could, too. Then, from there, they would tear the thing apart until there was nothing left but scraps.

A chill scurried down my spine at the thought of something like that happening to Roz, all because she wanted to stop by.

“I’ll escort you home,” I offered, biting into one of three burgers she brought me.

When she didn’t answer, I glanced up, meeting the self-conscious stare of a girl who was almostalwaysfearless. The look made me pause after swallowing, unsure of what I missed.

Her shoulder touched the wall beside her when she leaned into it.

“Actually ...”

A thought danced on the tip of her tongue, but she still hadn’t quite found the way to say it from the looks of things.

“I thought I might just … stay? If that’s okay,” she revealed, wearing her heart on her sleeve in that vulnerable moment.

A moment where she didn’t care how apparent it was that I knew she wanted to be close.

A moment where I, too, reveled in the idea of having her here for the entire night.

We hadn’t had much time to spend together since finally owning our feelings. Between her father’s disapproval of whatever our friendship was transforming into, and my newly swamped schedule, there was little to no time to see each other. No time to just be Nick and Roz.

But … together.

I was suddenly less focused on the food in hand and more focused on her—how her dark hair cascaded over the shoulder of a leather jacket that fit her form like a glove; how tempted we’d been in the woods not too long ago. That night, she’d gotten away from me, but I wasn’t so sure she’d be so lucky tonight.

A distracted nod from me brought her smile out more. “I think that sounds like a good idea,” I replied, forcing myself not to expect anything other than her company.

But maybe secretly hoping for more.

“Good. Cool,” she said, sinking down into the seat across from me. I watched as she tucked both feet beneath her on the cushion.

As much as I looked forward to her staying, it wasn’t lost on me that her father, technically, still hated my guts. There was no way she told him the truth about where she’d be tonight, so I had to ask.

“Where does your dad think you ran off to?”

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